ECUADOR TO ORGANIZE REGIONAL VENEZUELA MIGRANT CRISIS MEETING

Ecuador to organize regional Venezuela migrant crisis meeting

Venezuelan migrants are bearing precarious conditions often on foot to flee their country and head for safer pastures to the south

Venezuelan migrants are bearing precarious conditions often on foot to flee their country and head for safer pastures to the south (AFP Photo/Luis ROBAYO)

Quito (AFP) - Ecuador will organize a meeting of 13 Latin American countries to discuss the Venezuelan migrant crisis, Quito's top diplomat said on Tuesday.

More than two million people have fled economic collapse in Venezuela during a four-year recession, according to the United Nations, piling pressure on neighboring countries as well as others further afield.

Ecuador and Peru have announced tighter entry measures to control the influx of Venezuelans, leaving many stranded on those countries' northern borders with Colombia.

The latter's migration director, Christian Kruger, on Tuesday called on Colombia's southern neighbors to agree on a common strategy to address the problem.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/ecuador-organize-regional-venezuela-migrant-crisis-meeting-220120224.html